Dec 5, 2024
Wild & Wonderful Experience! - Thank you Beyond Africa! Although there was a last minute change to our hotel pick up time it worked out wonderfully. The 2 hr morning drive to Aquila's 22,000 acre reserve was a continuous jaw-dropping landscape of 6000' majestic mountains & vineyards. Upon our 8am arrival at the reserve, we were served a welcome cocktail & good buffet breakfast then headed out at 10am for the 2 hr game drive with "Max". It was such a thrill to be in wide open spaces surrounded by mountains where we got so close to hippos, ostrich, zebras, rhinos, eland and elephants! The lions are in separate "enclosure" but you get right up to them for fascinating views & photos. It rained off & on so we do recommend packing your raincoat since the complimentary ponchos are a bit thin & short. The buffet lunch after the drive was abundant w/many tasty choices! We had read some reviews about travelers disappointed that it felt like a zoo...but NOT us! Our friends were amazed at the photos & videos we posted in social media. In fact, our entire day's experience, ESPECIALLY our guide Clemente M., was an absolute South Africa highlight! Clemente gave us a wealth of information about the history of townships we traveled through, development of tunnels, effects of apartheid/colonization, and all in such a sensitive manner. He went ABOVE & BEYOND in making us feel so welcome & appreciated, that we will be HIGHLY recommending this tour to all our friends at home.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 4, 2024
Excellent Adventure - Wonderfully organized! Educational. Enjoyable. This experience exceeded all of my expectations for a great experience.
Review provided by Viator
Dec 3, 2024
Wild & Wonderful Experience! - Although there was some last minute changes to our hotel pick up time by the operator, the 2 hr morning drive to Aquila's 22,000 acre reserve was a continuous jaw-dropping landscape of 6000' majestic mountains & vineyards. Upon our 8am arrival at the reserve, we were served a welcome cocktail & good buffet breakfast then headed out at 10am for the 2 hr game drive with "Max". It was such a thrill to be in wide open spaces surrounded by mountains where we got so close to hippos, ostrich, zebras, rhinos, eland and elephants! The lions are in separate "enclosure" but you get right up to them for fascinating views & photos. It rained off & on so we do recommend packing your raincoat since the complimentary ponchos are a bit thin & short. The buffet lunch after the drive was abundant w/many tasty choices! We had read some reviews about travelers disappointed that it felt like a zoo...but NOT us! Our friends were amazed at the photos & videos we posted in social media. In fact, our entire day's experience, ESPECIALLY our guide Clemente M., was an absolute South Africa highlight! Clemente gave us a wealth of information about the history of townships we traveled through, development of tunnels, effects of apartheid/colonization, and all in such a sensitive manner. He went ABOVE & BEYOND in making us feel so welcome & appreciated, that we will be HIGHLY recommending this tour to all our friends at home.
Review provided by Viator
Dec 2, 2024
Safari day trip review - The safari experience was enjoyable and well-organized. It’s important to note that this is a smaller park, so the variety of wildlife might not be as extensive as in larger reserves. However, the professionalism and knowledge of our guide, Klemens, made the trip truly memorable.
Klemens went above and beyond to ensure we had a great time, sharing fascinating insights and making sure everyone felt comfortable throughout the journey. I would highly recommend his services to anyone planning a visit.
Overall, a good experience for those looking for a more intimate and guided safari adventure.
Review provided by Viator
Nov 30, 2024
Wonderful safari - The safari was wonderful. Our guide Tina was fun and informative. The bumpy vehicle was a bit rough on our backs. Our driver to the Safari was also very pleasant. His name was Clement. I would highly recommend him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 23, 2024
Best day of the holiday - It was a fantastic trip!
Especially with Big Papi there!
Who arranged everything fantastic!.
Also the trip to the resort was very safe and comfortable.
Was really great!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 27, 2024
Great overnight package, beautiful scenery. - We booked an overnight package in a premier lodge which was perfect for our stay.
We were on the 3rd floor there was a lift.
Downside bird droppings constantly on our balcony.
Great view of the pool garden, reserve & mountains.
We arrived at 12:30 welcome drinks. Check in at 2pm was quick efficient.
Buffet lunch 12:30 - 2pm.
We had a few hours chilling by the pool and then had our 1st drive at 4:15pm our guide was Nigel.
He was very informative providing us with a lot of information on the animals etc.
It was a little breezy chilly.
No blankets were offered. So dress appropriately.
The drive was over 2 hours before we returned we stopped at a bomba, where we were offered a drink and some snacks.
We also had a few baboons to keep us entertained.
On this drive we saw giraffes, rhinos, buffalo, elephants, diff types of deer.
The foll day we did a drive at 7am, quite chilly so we dressed with plenty of layers.
We saw the same animals from previous day plus hippos.
We were told Aquila is more of a conservation area as they take in neglected or abused animals.
Food there was a selection, it was average.
Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.
We enjoyed a scenic drive from Capetown to Aquila in a hire car taking under 3 hours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 11, 2024
Great trip to many wild animals - It was a great trip. We have experienced a lot of animals up close. The food on site was also very good. However, the journey from Cape Town is very long. However, it is worth it. However, you should know that it is like a HUGE free zoo you drive through. However, you really see a lot of animals. We loved it.
Tip: When transporting in the park, pay attention to correct language so that one understands all explanations.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 10, 2024
Our safari experience - We were not sure what to expect when we booked the safari. We just didn’t want it to be like a Busch Gardens safari. This was not that, but to have the animals segregated in different areas was similar to it. We got to see 4/5 big 5, missing only the leopard. Our tour guide, Tyler, was fantastic. So much information about each of the animals. He was easy to understand as well. Really made the safari as good as it was.
We were picked up on time by Clemens, who was also very knowledgeable about the area we were staying as well as the areas we traveled to get to the safari.
Thank you guys for making this experience so enjoyable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 15, 2024
Ripped off - Just visited Aquila 12/11/24 to 14/11/24 checked into our room at 2 pm . Game drive at 4 pm . Came back to room at 6.30 to notice someone had entered room to adjust bed . I then noticed a bag of ours had been opened at a large sum of money had been STOLEN . Reported it to manager straight away ,later filled out a security report . Then heard nothing . I asked about it upon checkout and nobody seemed to be interested except for to say sorry . I am not from SA and I would have not expected this to happen at an upmarket resort . Sorry Aquila but your lack of action has disappointed me . Don’t feel safe here .
Review provided by Tripadvisor